Page 37 of Watching Ames

Dev shrugged. “I think Wren is trying for a pool next.”

“You guys are never happy. Get your own houses to get patio furniture and pools for,” Alex grumbled under his breath, though his voice didn’t quite give off enough annoyance for me to believe it.

Dev raised his hands in defense as he laughed, Alex’s attitude not at all dimming his smile. “Hey, I didn’t say anything about a pool! And I’ll have you know me and my ass are very happy about not having to sit on the hard ground tonight, thanks to this girl here.” He reached out a hand, scrubbing it through my hair in a friendly gesture that made me laugh.

The sales associate returned, directing us to the loading zone to pick up our furniture. Apparently, Dev had brought his truck to help us haul the furniture to the house. We said quick goodbyes as we left the store, splitting off as Dev headed over to his truck while Alex and I buckled ourselves back into his car.

The gardening store was only a couple of miles away, flowering bushes and trees lining the road as we approached. From the minimal research I’d done in the car, it was too late in the season to start seeds, so we loaded the flat cart with small packs of seedlings for vegetables we liked eating: tomatoes, eggplant, squash, bell peppers, and hot peppers. Some of the larger plants already had small blooms, and I nestled them carefully on the cart to keep them from being knocked off.

Alex paid again, blatantly ignoring every attempt of mine to buy or split the cost of what we were buying. Even though the furniture and plants were for Alex’s house, I knew both were really for me. Alex hadn’t been subtle with that fact, buying me gloves and gardening tools as he urged me to buy anything I looked at in the gardening store, until we ended up with a blueberry bush, a fig tree, and pots for each alongside our vegetables.

“I have no idea how to take care of those fruits, Alex.”

“You can look it up. And if they die, I’ll buy you more next year.”

His casual reference to a year from now caught me off guard, and I knew Alex caught my look of surprise. But he didn’t say anything or attempt to take it back, just pushed the cart into the checkout line. He didn’t make any implications on our relationship a year from now, no pressure as to what the fruits meant, so I responded in turn.

“Maybe if we keep these alive, next year we can move onto fruit trees.”

“Sounds like a plan, Ames.”

* * *

After carefully packingthe trunk and backseat full of gardening materials. Alex drove us back to his house as I relaxed in the passenger seat, nestling down into the warm leather seats. The familiar smell brought back memories of making up after our first fight, when Alex met me wet and shivering on the bench outside ofIronwood. I let out a small, incredulous laugh as the memory, and Alex’s eyes shifted in my direction for a moment before focusing back on the road.

“Just remembering being in this car, soaking wet, crying in your lap after ignoring you for days,” I answered his unspoken question, Alex huffing an amused breath at the memory.

“I recall something like that happening.”

“Feels like forever ago.”

“It was forever ago. Maybe not in a linear way, but when you consider everything that’s happened since, it’s been a long time.”

I thought about what he said the rest of the car ride, his words soothing the raging turmoil of emotions that had been simmering under the surface for the past few days. Or if I was honest with myself, the past few weeks. Months. Since Peter and I got in our first fight, since Alex and I met. Everything felt so accelerated, too fast, but when I thought of everything we’d been through since, it didn’t feel as ridiculous, how close I felt to him, how much I trusted him. He was the first person who hadn’t lied to me or left me, and that meant more than I thought it would.

* * *

When we got backto the house, Dev’s truck was already in the driveway, a few of the larger boxes still sitting in the bed. Parked next to it was a black Volkswagen Beetle, the petite car immediately bringing Wren to mind, so I wasn’t surprised when she strolled out of the front door alongside Dev, both of them with drinks in hand.

“If you guys are going to break into my house, the least you could do is help us unload the car.”

“Aye, aye Captain!” Wren gave a jaunty salute that Dev copied with military precision, and I couldn't help the snort that burst out of my nose at the sight.

“Don’t encourage them.”

“We heard that!”

“You were meant to!”

The friendly jeering continued as we finished unloading the car, Wren immediately taking interest in the packs of vegetables and the fruits we’d picked out.

“Gardening! Can I help?”

“I hope so. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Wren let out a laugh, reassuring me, “I definitely know what I’m doing. My parents used to have a giant garden when I was younger. Vegetables, fruit trees, berry bushes, flowers, the whole nine yards. That’s why I got into flowers in the first place.”

“Do you grow any?”

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